Filling head for filling machines



Nov. 24, 1953v P. R. FECHHEIMER FILLING HEAD FOR FILLING MACHINES Filed March 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Shea?l l i INVENToR. Pkw.. cHf/E/Msf,

ATTOQNEYS.

P. R. FECHHEIMER FILLING HEAD FOR FILLING MACHINES Nov. 24, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet I?.`

Filed March 5, 1952 y a@ f a.. 3 5f 4 I f w J, z 394%; a 5 f 4. w G. f- E am .,4.

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a 4@www Patented Nov. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE FILLING HEAD FOR FILLING MACHINES Paul R. Fechheimer, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Karl Kiefer Machine Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 5, 1952, Serial No. 274,969

In my copending application entitled Pressure- L and-Vacuum Filling Machine, Serial No. 164,715, iiled May 27, 1950, I have described a machine and lling nozzle construction in which both super-atmospheric pressure and vacuum are employed to effect rapid filling of the bottles or containers. In such a system, a seal is provided about the mouth of the container to draw a vacuum on it, whereupon the filling material is introduced under a pressure greater than atmosn pheric. A pressure-vacuum system such as this makes it possible to fill the containers more rapidly than is possible with a system operating on pressure or vacuum alone.

In recent years there has developed a wide spread use of iiexible containers, such as plastic squeeze bottles, which, due either to their shape, dimensions or materials of construction, are so weak that they will not withstand very much internal vacuum without collapsing or internal pressure without bulging. Rectangular metal cans with spout tops also present the same difculties. I have found, however, that the dil.- culties encountered in lling these containers can be overcome by employing the pressurevacuum filling system taught in my aforementioned copending application.

However, some of these containers, particularly the plastic squeeze bottles, which are often molded in circular cross-section with relatively square shoulders, are weak along their longitu dinal axis and incapable of withstanding the normal pressure exerted against the top or mouth of an ordinary container during lling.

It is, therefore, a principal object of my invention to provide an improved filling head for a pressure-vacuum filling machine of the type disclosed in my said copending application which will adapt said machine for use where relatively weak, flexible containers are being filled.

This and other objects of my invention which will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading this speciiication, I accomplish by that structure and` additonalparts broken away to show the partsl comprising the Iilling head.

Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of the lling spout illustrated in Figures, 3 and 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken along the lines 6--6 of Figure 4.

Referring rst to Figure 1, I have therein illustrated the main parts of an exemplary lling machine. This machine comprises a central rotating column I which bears at its upper end a main head 2, and is connected at its lower end.

to a table 4 having means 5 thereon for supporting containers 6 and raising and lowering them as may be required. The main head of the apparatus has means 9 for supporting a plurality of filling heads I0 in proper positions to coact with the containers 6 von the movable supporting means 5. The main head has a hollow interior divided by a diaphragm II into two chambers I2 and I3, the first of which is a vacuum chamber and the last of which is a chamber for the :filling material. The chamber I3 is connected by a vertical conduit I4 inside the column I, with a conduit I5 leading to a supply tank II. The connection between pipes I4 and I5 is through a gland I6 which will permit rotation of the conduit Ill with the column I, as will be understood in this art.

The supply tank I1 for the iilling material IB is arranged to be supplied therewith by a conduit I9 from a suitable source of supply (not shown). of air is to be built up in the supply tank ITI, it is closed by a suitable cover 20; and it will be understood that the iilling material will be sunplied through the conduit I9 at a pressure sufcient to overcome the internal pressure of the supply tank I'I. A float 2l may be provided in the supply tank I'I operating a valve 22 to prevent overlling and to maintain the supply tank Il at substantially constant level -of the lling material.

The vacuum chamber I2 of the main head 2 is connected by a conduit 23 provided with a gland 24 to permit rotation of the main head with a vacuum chamber and trap 25 mounted on a suitable support Et cn the machine. The vacuum chamber and trap 25 is connected by a conduit 21 to a vacuum pump (not shown). Any increments of filling material coming over into the vacuum chamber and trap 25 through the conduit 23 will be separated from the air stream therein, and will be returned to the supply tank Il through a pump 28, located at the bottom of the chamber 25, driven by a motor 29 mounted with respect to the support 2S and connected with the supply tank I'I by a conduit tu. It will be understood that pump 23 will operate with sufficient force to overcome the reaction of superatmospheric pressure on the supply tank I 1.

Since a super-atmospheric pressure of- Pressure is builtv up in the supply tank by connecting it, through a conduit 3i with a source of air or other gas under pressure, such as a pump or tank (not shown). The conduit 3| may be provided with a pressure control valve 32 which will regulate the pressure imposed on the tank and another valve marked 33 which is a solenoid operated cutoff valve for venting the tank in the event of stoppage of the machine.

The construction of the filling head Ill can be best seen in Figure 6. Various constructions are possible, as evidenced by those set forth in my said copending application; and the valving arrangement described herein is exemplary only. The filling head has a body Ita permanently mounted on the supporting member S and provided with a vertical bore 35. The filling tubes hereinafter described are mounted on or operate in connection with a pair of plugs 35 and 3`| adapted to be inserted in opposite ends of the bore 35 and provided with flanges to x their inward positions. These plugs are held in place by a C-clamp having a body 3S with a lower portion bifurcated' as at 39' to pass the lling tubes, and an upper portion provided with an adjustment screw 4!! bearing against the upper plug 36. This arrangement makes the changing of filling stems for different sizes of containers a relatively simple matter. The body lila is provided with a vacuum passageway 4| and a passageway lli for the filling material; and these passageways are in turn connected to the chambers l2 and i3 of the main head by vacuum and filling material conduits indicated at43 and 44. p

The filling tube structure forming part of the filling head may-take various forms. In the exemplary embodimentillustrated, as shown in Figure 5, the filling stem comprises an inner tube lis, which is the vacuum tube and has-an opening 126 in the end thereof; This tube is inside a larger tubeV 4T which has sideopenings 48; and the arrangement` is such that the tubes have no direct communication with each other.

The upper plug 3E is provided with a passageway 49 communicating with the vacuum passageway 4|, the passageway 89 connecting at its opposite end with a central bore 5B in the plug 35. A tube 5| slides within this central bore and is provided with a gasket 52. A gasket 53 seals the upper plug against the inside of the vertical bore 35. At its lower end, the tube 5| terminates in an outwardlyv flared portion 5t adapted to snugly're ceive the inner tube 45 ofthe filling stem structure.

A large tube 55 slides-in a perforation in the lower plug 3l, and is provided with a sealing gasket 56. There is a fitting v5l closing the upper end ofthe tube 55 and bearing a gasket 58. A compression spring 59 is placed between the upper plug 3S and the fitting 51, the compression spring surrounding the necks 'Sii and l6| on the upper plug 35 and fitting 5l, respectively` The tube 55 is provided with one or more perforations $2 near its upper end; and the arrangement is such that when the tube 55 is in the position shown in Figure 3, these perforations are exposed to the vertical bore 35. When, however, the tube 55 is lowered to a position in which the gasket 58 bears against the top surface of lower plug 31, the perforations will be closed by the lower plug 3T. The tube 55 thus constitutes a valve for controlling the flow of filling material through tube 41.

'Ihe filling stem Structure illustrated in Figure 5, i. e. the inner tube 55 and the outer tube 4l, is connected to the tubes 5| and 55 by means of the coupling members et and G. The outer tube Iii' is connected to the coupling 63 and terminates substantially coterminous with the upper surface thereof; and the coupling member S3 isin turn connected to the coupling member 54 which is threaded to the tube As will be evident from the drawings, the inner tube il extends upwardly beyond the end of the outer tube :il and is received by the lower, outwardly flared end of the tube 5|. By means of this arrangement fllling stem structures of various lengths may be quickly.` and conveniently installed without having to disturb the filling head valving mechanism. Also, if desired, the tubes 5| and 55', and the couplings 5E and Se, may be eliminated and the tubes l5 and il of the filling stem prolonged so as to enter the head and serve as the valving means. In such instance changea in lling stems can be effected by removing the C-clamp SE and lower plug 3l.

The filling stem is designed to be raised by the container itself so that, if a container fails to be in filling position on the movable supports there will be no flow of the filling material. As shown in Figures 3 and i have fixed adjustably to the lling stem a stop member 65 having a sealing element 65 on its lower surface, serving both to effect the seal with the upper edges of the mouth of the container 5 and to cause the container itself to elevate the filling stem from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure e.

As the container 5 is moved upwardly by the movable supporting means 5, the shoulders 6l of the bottle first contact the centering bell S8 carried by the annulus 59. The annulus S9 is in turn supported by a pair of rods 'It and which are vertically slidable in the guideways l2 and T3 carried by the filling head ida. It will be evident that as-the container i5 is moved upwardly by the supporting means the centering bell and annulus will move upwardly with it, the rods 'IU and sliding vertically in the guideways 'i3 and 13. Collars or studs ld and l5 may be employed to determine the lowermost positions of the centering bell. While in the particular ernbodiment illustrated, the centering bell contacts the shoulders of the bottle; in other embodiments the centering bell might, by way of example, contact a ridge or flange formed on the neck of the bottle below its mouth.

The slidable rods 'I6 and 7| additionally carry a cross member 7S secured to the rods intermediate the annulus 69 and the lling head le. A compression spring Tl' surrounds the filling stem 41, and the spring 'I1 will be pressed between the stop member 65 and the cross member 16 when the filling mechanism is in the position illustrated in Figure 3. As seen in Figure 6, the annulus 69 carries a cam roller i3 adapted to be contacted by a cam track 79, the function of which will be explained hereinafter.

In operation, a container 6 on a movable support 5, occupying initially the position shown at A in Figure 2, is first moved upwardly, carrying the centering bell with it, until the mouth of the container contacts the sealing element 6B and moves the combination of tubes 45 and 4l upwardly against the compressive force of spring 59 contained in the lling head ma. The mechanism thus assumes the position illustrated at B in Figure 2. In this position the outer or filling tube 4-1 will be connected through the orifices 62 to the vertical bore 35; and filling material will flow into the container through the lling tube 4l. The vacuum tube 45 will be connected at all times to the source of vacuum through the tube 5l, bore 50, and passageways 49 and 4l.

It will be noted that as the centering bell 68 is moved upwardly by the container 6, the cross member 1G carried by the rods 'l0 and 'Il is moved out of contact with spring Tl so that the iilling stem is solely under the influence of the spring 59; and the spring 59 is so selected that it applies only enough force to the iilling stem to effect an eiiicient seal between the bottle neck and the sealing member 6%. The spring is preferably so selected that it will apply substantially zero force in the extended position and the proper force for sealing only in the compressed position.

After the complete lling of the container, it is lowered, as seen at C and D in Figure 2, by the platform means so as to remove the filling stem from the mouth thereof. Simultaneously with the lowering of the container, the cam roller 'i8 carried by the annulus 69 comes in contact with the undersurface of a downwardly inclined cam track 'i9 which acts to lower the annulus and the centering bell, together with the rods 10 and 'll and the cross member 16 iixed thereto. As these parts are lowered, the cross member 'i6 comes in contact with the spring 'l1 causing it to compress, the spring supplying sufficient force to lower the filling stem and shut off the supply of filling material by closing the orices 52. The cam Iii will pass from beneath the cam track 79 when the centering bell has been brought to its lowermost position. I have found that it is not necessary to hold the iilling stems in the lowermost or closed position since the pressure in the vertical bore 3e is sufcient to hold the tube 55 in the lowermost position.

The arrangement just described enabled me to utilize the advantages of the pressure-vacuum principle without applying against the top of the bottle neck any greater pressure than is required to fill the bottle. As the bottle is raised into contact with the filling spouts, it is resisted only by the weight of the centering bell and the parts associated therewith. This weight, however, as can be clearly seen in Figure 4, is borne by the shoulders or the bottle adjacent the side walls thereof where the bottle is strongest. When the mouth of the bottle contacts the sealing member Sli to raise the iilling stems to the filling position, it is resisted only by a force suicient to cause proper sealing contact between the sealing member and the bottle mouth, the spring 59 being sufciently light to apply only the necessary sealing force. The force required to lower the filling stems and thereby shut off the flow of filling material is supplied by the spring ll which becomes effective only upon downward movement of the annulus 69 under the iniiuence of cam track 1S. At the time when the spring 'l1 becomes eiective to apply force to the filling stem, the container 6 is being lowered by the supporting means 5 and will be out of contact with the sealing member 65. Consequently, at no time during the operating cycle of the machine is the container subjected to pressure great enough to cause it to be distorted or collapsed.

Modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of it. While I have described my filling head in connection with a pressure-vacuum filling system, it will be equally adapted for use in other types of lling 6 machines, as for example, in a machine employing super-atmospheric pressure only; and in the claims which follow it is not my intention to limit the invention to use solely in a pressure-vacuum machine. Having thus described my invention in an exemplary embodiment, what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a iilling machine, a lling spout structure comprising a body, a filling stem movable vertically relative to said body and having a free end extending beyond said body, a passageway effective through said body to supply filling material to said stem, said stem being movable from a lower position in which it is out of communication with said passageway to an upper position in which it is in communication with said passageway, sealing means on the free end of said stem for contacting the mouth of a container to be filled, whereby upward movement of said container will cause vertical movement of said stem, means effective when said stem is in its uppermost position to exert against said stem a force sufficient only to maintain said sealing member in sealing contact with the mouth of the container, and additional means effective upon filling of the container to supply sufficient additional force against said stem to return it to its lowermost position.

2. In a iilling machine, a filling spout structure comprising a body, a iilling stem movable vertically relative to said body and having a free end extending beyond said body, a passageway effective through said body to supply iilling material to said lillng stem, said filling stem being movable from a lower position in which it is out of communication with said passageway to an upper position in which it is in communication with said passageway, sealing means on the free end of said lling stem for contacting the mouth of a container to be filled, whereby upward movement of said container will cause vertical movement of said filling stem, spring means within said body effective when said stem is in its uppermost position to exert against said stem a force sufficient only to maintain said sealing member in sealing contact with the mouth of the raised container, and additional means eiective upon iilling of the container to supply sufficient additional force against said stem to return it to its lowermost position.

3. In a filling machine, a iilling spout structure comprising a body, a iilling stem movable vertically in said body and having a free end extending beyond said body, a passageway effective through said body to supply iilling material to said iilling stem, said stem being movable from a lower position in which it is out of communication with said passageway to an upper position-in which it is in communication with said passageway, sealing means on the free end of said filling stem for contacting the mouth of the container to be filled, whereby upward movement of said container will cause vertical movement of said stem, spring means within said body effective when said stem is in its uppermost position to exert against said stem a force suiiicient only to maintain said sealing member and sealing contact with the mouth of the container, a centering bell for the container being lled, said centering bell being supported on rods slidable in said body, said centering bell and rods being movable in dependently of said iilling stem and adapted to be raised by said container together with said illing stem, means for lowering said centering bell upon iilling of the container, and means in acconseconnection with said centering` bellfor lowering said filling stem by supplying sufficient additional force against said stem to return it to its lowermost position.l

4. The structure claimed in claim 3 wherein said means for lowering the centering bell upon lling of the container comprises a cam track acting upon a cam roller connected to said centering bell.

5. The structure claimed in claim 3 wherein said means for lowering the centering bell upon filling of the container comprises a cam track acting upon a cam roller connected to said centering bell, and wherein said means in connection withthe centering bell for lowering said filling stem comprises spring meansadapted to be corn.- pressed between said sealing member and a member carried by said rods during downward movement of said rods under the influenceof said cam means.

6. In a filling spout structure including a body and a filling stern movable vertically relative to said body from a lower, non-lling position to an upper, filling position, said filling stem including a sealing member for contacting a bottlel to be filled, force applying means within said body effective when said lling stern is in the upper, filling position to exert against said stein a downwardly directed force sufcient only to maintain the sealing member in sealing contact with the bottle mouth, and additional force applying means effective upon filling or' the bottle to supply suflicient additional force to said iilling stem to return it to the lower, non-lling positionA 7. The structure claimed in claim 6 wherein said last mentioned force applying means acts upon said filling stern at a point remote from the point of application of said first mentioned force applying means.

8. The structure claimed in` claim 6 wherein said irstmentioned force applying means coinprises a spring within said body contacting the upper end of said iilling stein, said spring being compressed when said filling stein is in its upper, filling position.

9. The structure claimed in claim. 6 wherein said rst mentioned force applying means comprises a spring contacting the upper end of said filling stein, said spring being compressed when said iilling stem is in its upper, lling position, and wherein said additional force applying means comprises a spring contacting said filling stem near its lower, free end, said last mentioned spring being under the influence of cam means effective to cause said spring to be compressed,

lil. ln a filling spout structure a body having a vertical bore, a filling stem movable vertically in said bore from a lower, non-filling position to an upper, filling position in which filling material under pressure is introduced into said stem through said bore, said iilling stem including a sealing member for contacting a bottlev to be filled, force applying means within said bore effective when said filling stem is in the upper, iilling positionto exert against said stem a downwardly directed force sufficient only to maintain the sealing member in sealing Contact with the bottle mouth, and additional force applying means effective upon lling of the bottle to supply suiicient additional force to said iilling stem to return it to the lower, non-lling position, said additional force applying means being releasable upon return of the lling stem to the lower-non-filling position, whereby said filling stem may be retained in the lower non-filling po- 8 stion by the pressure of the. filling material in the said bore.

1l. In a filling spout structure, a body, a filling stern extending downwardly from said body, a connection effective through said body to supply filling material to said filling stem, valve vmeans for controlling the flow of lling material through said :filling stem, said valve means being movable from a iirst position in which said lling stem is closed to the flow of filling material through said iilling stem to a second position in which said filling stem is open to the ow of filling material, operating means associated with said lling stern for contacting a container to be filled to move said valve means from the first to the 4second position, pressure applying means acting to offer light pressure against the movement of said valve means to the second position, and valve return means effective upon the filling of the container to supplement said light pressure means and apply to said valve means suioient pressure to assure the positive return or' said valve means to the first position.

l2. In a lling spout structure, a hollow body having a filling stein opening therein, a connection effective through said hollow body to supply lling material under pressure to said filling stein, valve means for controlling the flow of filling material through said filling stem, said valve means being movable from a closed position in which lling material is prevented from flowing through said filling stem to an open position in which filling material may flow through said lling stem, operating means for contact by a container to be filled to move said valve means to the open position against light spring pressure upon the juxtaposition of a container to said filling stem, and valve return means effective upon the filling of the container to exert suicient additional pressure on said valve means to assure the positive return of said valve means to the closed position.

13. In a filling machine, a filling spout structure comprising a body, a filling stem extending downwardly from said body, a connection effective throughl said body to supply filling niaterial tov said filling stern, a sealing member on said stem for contacting the mouth of a oontainer to be filled, said filling stein including valve means for controlling the iiow or f lling material through said filling stem, said valve means, being operatively connected to said sealing member and movable upwardly, upon juxtaposition cf a container to said sealing member and upward movement of the container, from a closed position in which said valve means is closed to the flow of filling material to an open position in which the valve means is opened to the now of filling material, spring means effective upon upward movement of the valvc means to exert relatively light spring pressure opposing the upward movement of the container so as to maintain said sealing member in sealing contact with the container being lled, and means effective upon downward movement of the container to exert sufficient additional pressure against said sealing member to cause said valve means to be positively closed.

PAUL R. FECHHEIMER.

Name Date Lieber Aug. 10, 1915 Number 

